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CityRail puts brakes on iPhone timetable app

RailCorp is threatening a Sydney man with legal action after he
created an iPhone application that allows people to monitor
timetables for Sydney trains and ferries.

Alvin Singh, a software developer at News Digital Media, has
been selling the Transit Sydney
application on the iTunes App store for $2.49 for the past two
weeks.

The application, which displays train and ferry timetable
information in a format similar to the computer monitors found at
train stations, is based on the fixed schedules provided on the
CityRail and other public transport websites.

Singh said in a phone interview he was planning to include bus
timetables, a planner tool and information on service interruptions
in the next version of the application, which is being bought by
iPhone users at a rate of about 20 copies a day.

But Singh recently received a threatening email from RailCorp
advising him that if he did not remove the application he would be
sued for copyright infringement, as RailCorp owns all of its
timetable information.

Singh said he did not have the resources to take on the
Government in court and his legal advice suggested he would
probably lose the case. So he will most likely withdraw the
application from the App Store.

"I've asked them to send me a formal written cease and desist
notice before I take it further," he said.

"The argument they've said is we are in the planning stages of
getting our own application up there, but going by the Government's
past performances I don't think we'll see it any time soon."

RailCorp would not comment on whether or not it was developing
its own iPhone application.

"RailCorp's primary concern is that our customers receive
accurate, up-to-date timetable information," a spokeswoman said in
a statement.

"This includes details of service interruptions, special event
services, trackwork and other changes. Third-party RailCorp
timetable applications may contain inaccuracies and have the
potential to mislead our customers."

Since Singh's application is based on the fixed timetables
provided on the RailCorp website, it does not account for service
delays.

Singh said he was not looking to profit from the application and
sold it only to cover his costs. He said he would give the code to
RailCorp for free if it wanted to build its own version.

"It's in the public interest for them to have this out there and
the argument they gave me was they plan to release their own one
but they've had two years to do it and they're a corporation;
they've got lots of people to do it, and I did it over a few weeks
in the December break."

The Victorian and Western Australian governments have been far
less draconian when it comes to iPhone developers. The Metro
Melbourne, Metro Perth and iTT Perth applications have provided
public transport timetable information for some time.

Google Maps offers transport timetables for Adelaide and Perth,
but Google has not yet been able to secure the rights to provide
the feature for other cities.